“THAT’S my story, that’s our story and you just embrace it.”
Stronger for the experience.
Patrick Cripps has typically led with aplomb in recent weeks, in what can only be described as an action-packed few months at IKON Park.
Of course, Cripps has seen all of it before when it comes to his time at the Carlton Football Club, from his time as a draftee to now being the long-term captain. And as he’s always done, he’s led from the front and assumed the responsibility that has come with the chaos, showing everyone in the football world what he’s still well and truly capable of for his club.
Speaking on the Ausmerican Aces podcast over the Blues' bye, Cripps provided an insight into how he fronted up during the “toughest period”, ensuring the Blues could come out of it on the other side to springboard a run of six consecutive wins.
“The hardest time as a team is when you’re not going as well as you want. There’s a lot of external distractions taking away your focus… it takes away what you love doing, which is playing footy and getting out there,” Cripps said.
“As a leader, the toughest period is keeping the group together and keeping the energy high when things aren’t going well… From the outside it looked like things were tough, but the energy throughout the whole Club throughout the year was actually really strong - the best energy from the locker room and the Club that I’ve been part of, which is crazy to say when you’re 1-8.
“For a few of us, we’ve been through it a bit so we knew how to keep it together. The younger guys, they were like ‘What’s going on right now? This is crazy’. Throughout all those times, yourself and the people around you come out with a bit of scar tissue and learn some good life lessons.
"I love the quote ‘Adversity breeds resilience’.
“I’m never one to walk around with the bottom lip hanging. It’s how we keep moving forward and keep the group together: it’s what I’m most proud of. It was pretty tough, but the ability to galvanise and stick together and find a way to make something of the year.”
In Cripps’ eyes, the best way to lead is to perform, and there’s been no denying he’s done exactly that.
Averaging just shy of 30 disposals, over seven clearances and just under a goal a game since the Western Bulldogs game, Cripps’ form has been a microcosm of the Blues’ winning run.
In the captain’s mind, the ball started rolling the week beforehand against Brisbane, where - after a start which demonstrated a team bereft of confidence - something changed in the second half to storm home but narrowly fall to the reigning premiers.
Unbeknownst to the players, there was a coaching change in the works in the 72 hours after that game, but for Cripps and the leaders, they were steadfast that the ownership needed to fall on those representing the Navy Blue jumper out on the ground.
“I always looked at it that obviously the coach has some impact, but for us as players, we had to ******* grow up a bit. We had to take a fair bit of ownership,” an honest Cripps said.
“The Saints game was probably the hardest one. The first half of the [Brisbane] game, we carried on the form of that St Kilda game as a team low on confidence. But we played a really good second half and I felt like the group gained a bit of energy and confidence from that half… then we win the next four [at the time of the interview], but I felt we had a bit of momentum from the end of that Brisbane game.
“It wasn’t pointing fingers, it was a lot of accountability and honest conversations which you’ve got to have in those times. Realistically, we’re in the high-performance environment, we’re in the arena - there’s nowhere to hide in those moments. You’ve got to keep going at the game, keep embracing it and that there’s always something to gain rather than there being something to lose.”
The Blues’ sitting at a 1-8 record wasn’t through a lack of trying. As Cripps flagged, there were numerous occasions where the Blues were in winning positions in second halves alone - and yet the team couldn’t get the job done.
For Cripps, it was about finding the balance between “challenge versus support”.
“A lot of the heavy challenge was in leadership meetings, because accountability and ownership goes onto your leaders. There were certainly times there were really strong conversations.
“We had to do a lot of work on it: how are guys feeling in those moments? What’s the blockage here? Then it was flipping it to what we can get after, keep it really simple rather than chipping away at it. Nobody was pointing fingers, it was about taking ownership and finding a way forward.
“The last few weeks have been a progression of what we’ve been working on over pre-season and the start of the year. Sometimes there’s a lag effect, sometimes you just need a win to get confidence.”
